If there is one thing a digital experience can do, it is to strip most transactions of personality. This is something marketers realized a long while ago and hence the multiple efforts to personalize collateral when dealing with a potential client online. A sales conversion doesn’t begin at the point of first contact with a customer, rather it begins with interaction that takes place much before; through personalized marketing collaterals that are based on a person’s viewing as well as buying behaviour.
While personalized emails and discount offers based on online behaviour are common marketing strategies, things are now moving to the next level, of going down to the minutiae. For example, one form of personalization sees data on location being used to create targeted campaigns for potential purchasers who live in the vicinity of existing customers. Another approach is to use IP addresses to understand workspaces and potential designations and have dynamic, yet relevant content targeted to the buyer. Even minute purchasing patterns, such as how many boxes of a particular candy a customer likes to buy at one go, can lead to discount vouchers with the same number being advertised to him. There are several alternatives and possibilities in the realm of personalized and targeted marketing.
In a study conducted by Econsultancy along with Adobe, it was found that 52% of digital marketers surveyed felt that their ability to personalize their web content was integral to their marketing strategy. 41% are committed to providing such personalized web experiences and 88% of them felt that personalization based on social graph has an 88% impact on ROI and 77% felt that personalization based on purchase history is the factor for high impact.
Read: Why Sitecore’s Digital Experience Platform is what you need to boost your ROI
The fact that personalized digital marketing experiences is beneficial to the bottom line is evident. Here are 5 major benefits that reiterate this point.
The Ability to Target Existing and Potential Customers
One of the major advantages when adopting methods of personalized marketing is that an organization can target both current as well as prospective purchasers. The right kind of engagement can ensure that conversions happen regularly. This engagement can be based on individual likes and purchase activity. A study by Experian revealed that personalized marketing emails received 29% higher open rates and 41% higher click-through rates than those that were not addressed to a person specifically. The study goes on to say that such personalization can increase sales by around 19%.
A Means to Better Customer Retention
Personalization instantly creates a connect and can create a happy customer. And this is what ensures that you have repeat sales. In a research conducted by Econsultancy, it was found that customers were likelier to come back for another purchase when the company shared with them personalized post-sales offers. The backbone of customer retention is familiarity and trust; and personalization of collateral can help with this.
Read: All you need to know about Sitefinity Digital Experience Cloud
Enables Your Sales Force
Being able to personalize your marketing material is based on information derived out the extensive data that you collect. An additional benefit is to create personalized customer kits for your sales teams enabling them to make more effective calls to potential customers. Such lead intelligence allows them to connect to the customer in such a way so as for them to feel that their needs are being addressed and anticipated as well. The rate of conversion then begins to increase from this approach as well.
Timely Messages can Lead to Improved Persuasion
Marketing strategies often take into consideration time as well. Fashion brands look at seasons; consumer durables factor in festivities and holidays; and travel brands look at holiday season. How a brand would approach a newly married couple versus a single young working individual versus a nuclear family would be very different. Using data to create personalized and timely messages that enhance customer experience during purchase and in the time leading up to it, can improve conversions to a large extent. A study by Accenture showed that personalized emails have 2.5 times higher click-through rates, and are six times more likely to drive a conversion than regular mails. Additionally, 73% of consumers said that they would rather do business with brands that use personal information to increase the relevancy of their experiences.
Read: How Sitecore’s Personalization capabilities help in Customer Acquisition
A Faster, Comprehensive Sales Cycle
Having a comprehensive set of information on existing and potential customers enables an organization to shorten the sales cycle. When collateral is personalized and you know exactly what the customer is targeted for and are able to offer, it instantly reflects on conversion and the sales cycle shortens. This allows for more customers to be brought into the loop efficiently.
There is no doubt that the Internet is overloaded with products and experiences. Being able to provide a personalized experience that is based on predictions gleaned from customer data is seen to be far more effective that moving with trends in a reaction-based approach. The benefits of personalization enhance marketing strategies and ensure better sales constantly.